Chapter 42: A Painful Confession

Chen Lin showed no intention of speaking, and Yan didn’t seem inclined to urge him. She simply stared at him with her big, adorable eyes.

After a moment, the caramel macchiato Yan had ordered was placed in front of her. She picked up the cup and took a small, satisfied sip. “So good,” she praised.

Just as Chen Lin judged the timing to be right and was about to speak, the owner of the café appeared, holding a Polaroid camera. He walked over to Chen Lin and Yan.

“Little lady, you’re so cute. Would you mind if I took a photo? It’ll only be used for the wall of pictures in the shop. Nothing else,” the owner asked Yan.

Before Chen Lin could say anything, Yan immediately agreed. “Of course! But you have to include both of us.”

With that, Yan stood up and cheerfully moved beside Chen Lin, intimately hooking her arm through his left.

The owner pressed the shutter, capturing the scene, and a photo slid out of the camera.

“Ah, thank you so much,” the owner said to Yan after checking the photo.

“Can I see it?” Yan asked. The owner naturally handed it over.

In the photo, Yan was clinging to Chen Lin intimately, but Chen Lin’s expression was a bit awkward.

Yan quickly handed the photo back, eager for the owner to hang it on the wall. She hoped everyone who entered would see it.

After the owner left, the booth fell silent again. Chen Lin took a sip of his coffee and felt it was time to speak.

“Say… did you come here straight after school?” Chen Lin asked a pointless question.

He had wanted to get straight to the point, but that seemed too abrupt.

“Mm, yeah. Did you not?” Yan replied, puzzled.

The café was not far from Chen Lin’s school, but it was a bit far from Yan’s, so it had taken her a little longer to get there.

“Actually…” Chen Lin wanted to say something else, but decided it was better to just cut to the chase.

“…Actually…” He still hesitated, unsure if his judgment was correct. Even if he was wrong, it didn’t matter. Being laughed at didn’t matter either.

“Hmm? What do you want to say, big brother? You’re acting really strange today.” Yan tilted her head slightly, looking at him quizzically.

Chen Lin took a deep breath and finally said what he wanted to say. “Yan, I think you like me.”

After the words left his mouth, he watched her nervously.

Yan’s eyes widened. She immediately looked away, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. Then she looked back at him.

“Big brother, you’re an idiot!” Yan pouted angrily.

Not only did she not directly answer his question, she even called him an idiot.

Perhaps she was right. Chen Lin didn’t understand why she called him an idiot, so he asked again, “Can you just answer my question?”

“Honestly…” Yan complained, “We’ve been together for so long. Isn’t that question redundant?”

She paused, then turned the question back on him. “Don’t you like me too, big brother?”

Faced with her question, Chen Lin was momentarily stunned. Although Yan still hadn’t directly answered him, he wasn’t stupid. The implication was clear, and he understood her feelings.

So his guess wasn’t wrong. In that case, today should be the day to make a clean break.

“Thank you for liking someone as ordinary as me…” Chen Lin said gratefully.

Yan shook her head slightly. “I don’t want to hear you thank me with words. If you really want to thank me, show it with actions.”

“I’m sorry… but I can’t accept your feelings…” After saying this, Chen Lin let out a deep breath.

Finally, he had said what he wanted to say. It felt a bit relieving.

Yan froze, her mind going blank. She couldn’t understand what was happening.

“Big brother, wait. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say,” Yan said.

“Although I’m grateful for your feelings, I can’t accept them…” Chen Lin’s calm voice sounded like a blade piercing Yan’s ears, as if it would shatter her soul.

This devastating news made Yan clap her hands over her ears in pain. She didn’t want to hear him.

“Yan, I’m grateful for your care these past days. So let’s end it here. That’s all I wanted to say to you.” But Yan still had her ears covered, blocking out his words.

Chen Lin didn’t know how much she had heard. But at least she should know his stance now.

He wasn’t perfect. He believed Yan would move on quickly, so he wasn’t worried about her future.

The world is vast, with so many people. It’s only natural for some to be mere passersby.

“Yan, are you okay?” Concerned, Chen Lin reached out to pat her shoulder.

But Yan dodged his hand, clearly not wanting him to touch her. The sudden movement knocked over the coffee cup on the table in front of her.

The neat plaid tablecloth was now soaked with coffee.

“Big brother, you were joking just now, right?” Yan asked without looking up, still covering her ears.

“It’s not a joke. These days, I’m grateful for your presence. But precisely because of that, I think it’s necessary to make things clear today.”

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